MODULE TWO

The Three V’s: The Voice, Vagina, & Vagus Nerve 

AFFIRMATION: My body is juicy, my voice is juicy, I am juicy. 

I don’t know about you, but it makes me feel really happy (and slightly, deliciously naughty), to say that. We are JUICY! Put THAT as an hourly reminder in your phones, and think about it all day! Ha! I bet if you do, you WILL be juicier by the end of the day ;) Ah, the power of suggestion…

How To Use The Affirmations

I do recommend that you work with both your personal affirmation and those I’m including in modules 2-5. Writing or saying them out loud first thing in the morning and before bed at night can be wonderful. I’ve also had transformative experiences putting affirmations as reminders in my phone and setting them to go off hourly. It’s a pretty amazing way to keep yourself focused on and incorporating new thoughts patterns. The inner voice informs the outer voice, so it’s very worth re-patterning our inner voices with positive thoughts. I suggest you try one of the three – writing, saying aloud, or phone reminders – or go for it and incorporate all of them. I would also suggest continuing to work with your personal affirmation for this course (the one we’re using for toning), and then add this one from module two, and keep adding each new one through module five. That way you’ll be working with your own personal affirmation, plus adding a new one with each module for a total of five affirmations altogether by the end of the course. After that, you can keep working with any or all of them – especially the ones you resonate with or need the most – until you feel they are really sinking into your subconscious mind. 

The Voice, The Vagina, & The Vagus Nerve

So did this first topic – about vaginas and voices – get your attention? I’m guessing it may have. And I hope you’re intrigued! The voice, vagina, and vagus nerve are all going to be getting special attention in our work together, and we’ll be setting the stage by explaining why. I like to give the logical left brain food for thought. That way, as we dive into these predominantly right-brained, experiential practices, the left brain is on board to support us. It likes to know why we’re doing what we’re doing. So let’s show it!

Before we dive in, it’s worth mentioning that many practitioners call the vagus nerve the “soul nerve” due to its intricate connection with our physical, emotional, and even spiritual wellbeing. Its connection with our voice and sexual organs is a key reason that sounding and breath practices are so healing, so we’ll be focusing quite a bit on this inter-connective relationship.

Also, I reference science quite a bit in these videos, but for time’s sake, I don’t go into specifics. However, in the resources section on the Welcome Page, I’ve included a list of books, some of which have excellent scientific information on sound, energy healing, and the voice. One of the best I’ve come across is called The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy by Cyndi Dale. If you want scientific studies and really clear, in-depth explanations of much of what I’m referencing, this would be your one-stop shop. It’s an amazing book. Also Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber and Healing Sounds by Jonathan Goldman are excellent resources.

 

TUNING IN

As I’ve mentioned, we’re going to tone together at the beginning of each module (and ideally each day you start your practices). So here is that toning video to help you drop in and cultivate your healthier voice, vagina (or genitals), and vagus nerve. 

And now without further ado, let’s get to the videos! We’ll start with The Voice (of course)!

THE VOICE

 

 

SOUND HEALING & THE VOICE

 

THE VAGINA/VAJRA (Vajra refers to the male sex organ in Sanskrit. It means thunderbolt ;) 

 

 

THE VAGUS NERVE

 As I mentioned previously, the vagus nerve is often referred to as the soul nerve because it’s the mind/body connector that also helps us to feel more soulful and grounded. But it can only do that if it’s well-tended and toned. Often, it’s caught in fight-or-flight instead. The sounding and movement practices in this course are powerful ways to tone the vagus nerve. With consistent practice, they will help to soothe and retrain our nervous systems back into rest-and-digest.

This was essential for me in order to release the weakness and shakiness I experienced from PTSD, along with the anxiety attacks I had while performing. It was also essential for beginning to unwind the health problems of my younger years. Toning my vagus nerve helped me deepen in enough to hear my inner voice more fully. From there, it was better able to guide me on my healing path and help my body to step out of stress and into healing. Well-tended vagus nerves are key to our wellbeing. They help us to be healthier, heal from trauma, and stay resilient. They’re also key to embodying and being guided by our voices. 

3 Reasons Singing and Toning Help Us Feel So Good…

  1. Deeper breaths and longer exhales calm the vagus nerve. When singing or toning, we’re stimulating rest-and-digest.
  2. Within moments of starting these sounds, our heartbeat regulates and we release a cocktail of wonderful-feeling chemicals and hormones.
  3. They stimulate the vagus nerve by creating a full-body, internal massage. There’s no other way to stimulate ourselves from the inside like that. This inner massage feels so good to the vagus nerve. And it just feels better the more we tune into it. 

As I’ve mentioned, we don’t have to be elite vocalists to enjoy these benefits! They’re available to ANYONE with a voice. 

JOURNALING

Take 5-10 minutes to answer these questions. You can take more time if desired, but often our first, least thought-out response is the most accurate and insightful…

  • What has your relationship with your voice, vagina (or genitals), and body been, and how may that have shifted after these videos? 

 

  • Where would you like to soften into loving yourself more (including your voice, vagina, genitals, and/or any other part of yourself)?

 

  • Do you have healing to do for your voice, vagina, and/or body? What is your inner voice saying about this healing?

 

  • What does this information shift in your perception of the purpose and process of making sound? Could it give new meaning to what it would be like to source sound from your pelvis, gut, heart, or even all three? What it might mean to have your body be a resonating chamber for the sound of your voice? Write about these ideas and what you notice in your body and psyche as you think about them.

WONDERFUL WORK WITH MODULE TWO!!!!!!!!! I’m suuuper proud of you!!! 

I really hope that you’re having some significant insights and perspective shifts through all we’ve covered so far.

Next we’ll be diving into vocal technique, and a couple of vocal exercises to start working out your voice more. See you in Module 3!

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